And I went..... Skydiving!

So, it was Erin's Golden Birthday on Monday (because she turned 20 on the 20th) so we decided that we would go skydiving. Erin went last year with Shelley and she loved it and wanted to go again. We all decided that we would go too because how fun would that be?

Before we left!:

We were supposed to go last weekend but Erin couldn't get work off so we went today. We made tie-dyed t-shirts and wrote on them and we just got all ready! Then we left today at like 9 am. We got to Ogden Skydiving Center at about 12:30 and we got all ready.

In front of Ogden Skydiving Center!:

We filled out all the paperwork and such. It was so crazy. We had to wait a little bit because we walked in but we didn't have to wait too long...

Signing our paper work!:

haha and the wait...

Then we got all suited up and ready to go! Erin, Jessica, Breanna and I were the only ones who actually dove from the airplane but Shay and Michelle were there for moral support and to take out pictures.

Our scared faces!:

And our silly faces!:

Haha but we met our diving buddy and mine was really weird at first. It was funny because he brought pizza and a bunch of fruit on the airplane and ate it right before we jumped. His name was Ryan and he was hilarious.

Ryan tightening all my straps:

Our little airplane! :)

He found out that I went to BYU-Idaho and he told me that we were going to have to break school rules to jump because we were going to be spooning. haha so when he strapped me to him in the airplane after that, he started singing "I'm the big spoon, I'm the big spoon!" It was so funny. And then my straps over my shoulder were super loose so I asked him about it and if he would tighten it and he was like "Geeze, I cuddle with you a little bit and you just want more..." He was great. He definitely made the experience a whole lot better.

But I was super excited until we had been in the airplane for a little bit because I knew that at any moment we could be falling out. I was the third to leave the plane and once Breanna left in front of me, I was freaking out. But then we just scooted right up to the door opening and I got my feet hanging out and then we rocked back and forth a little bit and then we just fell out! I didn't arch my body enough so he had to like pull my legs back with his legs so that we were in the right position. But we did flips and everything as we were free-falling. It was SO ridiculous. It didn't even really feel like falling, it was just like there was a huge fan blowing air against us.

Falling I'm with the bright pink parachute!:

We did a bunch of spins and stuff and he showed me how to do it at first and then he let me do it. It was so great! I don't even know what to say about it anymore, it was just so insane! I was falling from the sky and doing tricks. HOW INSANE.

But yeah, once he pulled the 'chute, it was kinda fun. When he actually pulled it, it like shot us up in the air (not really but that's what it felt like). And it hurt. Haha it just yanked us right up there. But then he adjusted the straps on my legs a little bit so that I was in like a sitting position and then it was really nice. We kinda just floated down and we spun in circles and just drifted down to the ground. Ryan was awesome and him being the guy I was with definitely made the experience. We landed on our butts and just kinda sat on the ground. haha and then we were done and they ran off to get another parachute and do it all again with another group. Crazy!

Landing!:

We took some pictures and kinda just took it all in! We also got a sweet certificate and a pen and a bumper sticker and a bunch of other fun stuff.

Alive and on the ground again! :)

After we got all unsuited and everything, then we went to lunch at Olive Garden. I'm not really much of an Olive Garden fan and I would've much rather gone to Chick-fil-a which was RIGHT next door. :( I was so sad.

After that, we came home pretty much and we were all so tired during that 3 hour drive. But we got back to Rexburg just as the Relief Society broadcast thing was ending which was kinda funny because we were still on this huge skydiving high and everyone else was on this spiritual high. But now we've really done nothing and we're exhausted. Skydiving takes a lot out of you.

But yep, that's my exciting day! So great!! :))

p.s. anyone who wants to go, I'll totally go again.

And we fell from 12.000 ft but it didn't feel like that at all.... I wanna go higher. hahahaha

I wish:

Sometimes I just wish I could fast-forward through time. Like, just a little bit. Time usually goes really quickly except when you want it too and then it drags on and on and on. It's been almost 80 hours since I've been able to talk to my best friend. Which doesn't seem like that long but I've talked to him everyday since October I'd say (with maybe the exception of 4 days, at the most). It has been so hard to adjust to this change. I know that once I start hearing from him, not just his sister or mom, I'll be able to feel better. Hopefully I'll be getting a letter tomorrow (I better at least...) and P-day should be just around the corner.

Ugh. This week has just been... draining.

In pretty much all ways possible. I've cried more these past 80 hours than I have like my whole life. hahaha maybe not but definitely more than I've cried in the past 3 years. It's been bad. AND, the only person who can relate at all and who I want to talk to about it, is the one person I can't talk to.

It would be great if we could just fast-forward to like.... August. That would be really great.

Okay, wellllllllllll anyway, school is going alright. I understand Chemistry I think.... but see, I never really know.... hahaha and everything else is just busy work pretty much. But that just means I have to stay on top of things and work hard and do well.

Um, yeah. That's my life right now.

so great. :)

Oh..... Yeah....

I'm back in Rexburg!! Hahahaha and I have been for.... 10 full days.

I am obviously horrible at remembering to blog/I haven't really had oodles of time.

It is SOOO good to be back though. Like seriously, it feels wonderful. It's amazing how my whole Rexburg routine just fell back into place. Even though I'm living in a whole new apartment with some new roommates and just a bunch of new stuff. But it feels like home and I love it.

There are 6 of us living here: Erin, Jessica, Michelle and me plus our two new roommates, Breanna and Shay, who are both freshman. It's cute and we're all friends which is good.

We've officially had 7 days of school. It was SO nice because I only have one class on Thursdays and classes started on Thursday so I got to work my way into school rather easily. I am only taking 12 credits but it is really more like 15 credits since I am in classes for 15 hours AND it's all real classes. Chem 105, Math 110, D&C, and Natural Disasters. No fun classes for Danielle. :(

But yeah, I really like my Chem class which is good, since it's 9 o'clock every morning. My math class is so retarded. We never really do anything in class and today we cut paper into boxes which is obviously very educational.... :/ I love Natural Disasters; it's probably my favorite. I just find it so interesting. And it's also kinda why I want to cluster/minor in Geology. haha we shall see though. And D&C is with Erin Young so that's presh, as always.

We've done so much stuff since being back in this little ol' town.

On Saturday, a new little diner opened up here and so there was a huge grand opening. It's called Sammy's and it's super cute. They have delicious food and shakes (which are apparently famous haha) but it's a little pricey which isn't good. But yeah, we had dinner and then as part of their two-day grand opening, there was a free concert in the street and it was a good concert. The Neighbors, Benton Paul (love him), Fictionist, and Mindy Gledhill (whom I also adore). It was super fun. And it was free. haha

Monday, after our super fun ward activity, and after getting snowcones, we had a late-night ice cream run to G's Dairy. We got the Holy Cow plate or something which is 13 scoops of ice cream. So good. mmmmm :)

Tuesday, we tie-dyed shirts for our skydiving adventure. It was really fun. And then Wednesday we opened them all up and our shirts are so cute! They're all different and reflect our personalities I think. I'm excited to wear it! Unfortunately, our skydiving adventure got postponed a weekend but that is okay.

Last night, we had Toy Story night. We watched Toy Story and ate Toy Story Macaroni and Cheese. Tonight is Toy Story 2 Night. We're watching Toy Story 2 and eating Toy Story Popcorn. haha and then tomorrow is Toy Story 3 night! Woooo! :)

This week has been kinda.... bittersweet. Josh leaves on Tuesday for Utah/Provo/the Empty Sea. But his Stake president is leaving on Sunday night for a while SO Josh is getting set apart on Sunday right after church. Which means the last time we get to talk is pretty much Saturday. Except I'm waking up kinda early to talk to him before my church on Sunday. But yeah, it's not going to be bueno. Thinking about him leaving is reminding me of Nicole leaving and it's making me miss her too. It's reminding me of the last time I talked to her on the phone on September 16th at like 11 am, right before she entered the Empty Sea. I was like bawling when I got off the phone with her and I have a feeling that is how it'll be on Sunday morning as well. Hahahaha I'm already like crying right now. LAME. But yeah, Nicole's year has flown by so I'm sure Josh's two years will as well. It'll just be hard to adjust for a while. :(

Speaking of Troll, I need to write that chica a letter... Maybe I will do that now...

But yes, I am back in Rexburg, constantly doing homework and dreading for it to turn into Iceburg.

Until next time!

p to the s. There was so much to write so I just didn't really write about anything. haha sorry team!

Bondage

So I thought that we were going to go to the California Academy of Sciences yesterday but my dad read some reviews online and didn't want to. So we didn't really know what we wanted to do... It took us some time but we finally decided to go to the Zoo, for Family Bondage. hahaha

We went to the Oakland Zoo (which we'd never been to before) and it was so cute haha. It's a smaller zoo so it was just quick and easy to see everything. They had lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) and just all the normal zoo animals. We got to see the alligators get fed and the elephants get fed. And this weird lizard thing get fed. We hurried past the giraffes so that we could go and see he elephants get fed and by the time we went back to really see the giraffes, they had been put to bed for the night because the zoo was shortstaffed at night so they had to do it early. It was SO lame because I LOVE giraffes. Oh well.

After that, we went to Fenton's for dinner and then ice cream. Although, we made a short little stop at the Oakland Temple to just walk around and stuff. Then we went to Fenton's and it was super busy because the Cal/Davis game had just gotten out so everyone was there from Berkeley. But it wasn't that long of a wait which was good. So we got dinner and then we had ice cream. SO good. It's a good thing it's in Oakland and not closer because I'd probably have to go all the time. hahaha

This is pretty much what it looked like. Thanks for the image google. :)

Then, after we came home, we put children to bed and then the girls (Jack, my mom and I) went shopping. First to DSW where I founds some awesome shoes (although I didn't buy them) and then we went to Target.

I got a new wallet (although it's much cuter in person):
But yeah, it was quite an exciting day.

Two more days until I'm back in Rexburg. And it's kinda bittersweet. I honestly don't know how I'm going to get everything back there but we shall see! haha

Tomorrow is Lunch with Colleen and Jill and then laundry and packing. It'll be a blast.

Dependability

This week has been VERY interesting.

Monday, I worked at the bookstore that I worked at during the summer of '08. But it's owned by a family in my ward so I work there whenever they need me. I worked there on Monday and Wednesday.

Tuesday, I went shopping and got some new clothes (like pants and jackets!) and didn't really do a whole lot of anything. Although my day was pretty busy... shopping, lunch at nVidia, etc.

After working at the Bookstore all Wednesday morning (and into the afternoon) I then spent an extra 45 minutes at work buying books for my family. hahaha both my dad and my sister sent me with a list of 5+ books. That was an adventure. When I was done with that, I finally got home and got to relax and do nothing for a little while. But instead of doing nothing, Jack and I went to Target and bought LOTS of cute clothes. I am going to be so cute this semester. hahaha but yeah, that was fun. Then I had like 10 minutes at home before going babysitting for the Parent's. Recently, they have been my most frequent employer. haha which is good. Those kids are cute.

Thursday, I slept in (because I knew that I would be up late) and then we went to go and return some of the clothes that we had bought previously and exchange them for different sizes. As we were driving down the street, my phone rang and it was Lisa. Lisa is Ron's husband and they needed someone to work there (at his office and the mail place I worked at before). There had been some drama apparently the night before and Sarah hadn't showed up for work. So we went back home, I changed my clothes and I left for work. I worked there from 12-5 and then I had a babysitting job at 5:30-late. They were going to dinner and then to Wicked in San Francisco for her birthday. Well, I was at work a little late and didn't get out of there until 10 after 5 and then I had about 10 minutes home to get ready before I had to leave again. Babysitting was alright but everything on TV was about weddings or relationships or something of that nature. The Office was on but it was the Valentine's Day episode where they had the Lonely Heart's Mixer. I don't know why but that was definitely a theme with TV last night. Oh well. They got home a little before midnight and then I came home. It was exhausting.

Well, then this morning, they wanted me to work again (because they didn't know if Sarah would show...), at 8:30. I got up at 7:30, showered, got all ready, and left the house at 8:32. I drove the .3 mile and got there at 8:33. Sarah's truck was in the parking lot and she was just entering the building when I pulled in. I had a key so I couldn't just leave. I went up there and talked to her, gave the key back and just as I was leaving, she asked if I could work today because she didn't feel good (although she used different words that I won't repeat...). She called Ron in Utah but he wasn't in the office so she decided to just stick it out for the day.

Well, after I got home, at 8:40, I called Lisa and told her the story. She called me back like two hours later and told me the whole story. But before that, I'll tell you what I already know:

Apparently there was a big fight at the apartments that Sarah both lives in and manages for the Bushnell's (Ron and Lisa). It was at 2 in the morning on Thursday. Supposedly, the police got involved and somehow Sarah also got involved and got punched in the face, resulting in a black eye, and her phone was damaged. She didn't show up to work that morning and they didn't really hear from her except for an email retelling the above story. Well, she never showed and that's why they urgently called me in that afternoon. Lisa called the Sunnyvale Police Dept to find out about the incident and they had no record of it. So that is suspicious. This is also why they didn't know if she'd show up today. But I made sure to check her face today and guess what? No black eye. Surprise, Surprise.

So, Lisa told me on the phone that this wasn't the first incident that they've had with Sarah and that they had already given her a second chance. While I was there before, they were suspicious of her because money was suddenly missing. And I guess two weeks ago she appeared to be drunk at work (although she claimed to have taken some heavy pain medication because she got in a car accident on the way to work. But her car looked fine...) Anyway, Sarah has now given her notice and today was her last day. Fran will be working there in the afternoons next week but it really is too bad that I'm leaving. They could really use me. Luckily, they love me and I'm pretty sure that they'll rehire me come December. Lisa told me how glad they were that I was so dependable and trustworthy, "qualities that are so hard to come by in the world now." :)

That is the end of my crazy drama. That place is cholk-full of drama.

Tomorrow we're going to the California Academy of Sciences which I am SO excited to go to. I've wanted to go there since it re-opened a year and a half ago. Seriously, this place looks freaking fantastic. AND there is a special Extreme Mammals exhibit right now. I cannot wait.

After that, I have Sunday and Monday and then on Tuesday morning, I leave Cal-i-for-ni-a for 3.5 months and return again when I can no longer bear the cold of Idaho. My flight leaves at 7am out of OAK so it's going to be a loooooooooong day on Tuesday. Goodie!

haha tis all.

Lakes, Oceans, Pools, Oh My?!

Well.... I have kinda lost my excitement for blogging. Which is why I haven't blogged at all recently.

I guess I've just had a lot of things going on but not enough time or will power to want to write about it. Especially since no one reads my blog anyway. haha But I guess I will blog now since i don't want to do other work. haha

SO! We were at Lake Tahoe for 8 days. We got back last Monday. But we brought the Anderson's back with us as well for Kirsten's wedding which was on Saturday. So we hung out with them and it was kinda crazy because almost every possible place for someone to sleep, there was someone sleeping there. We doubled the capacity of our house. But then on Wednesday night, Erin came to visit! So then I got to sleep in my closet on an air mattress which was kind of an adventure.

But when Erin was here we:

-Went to Rok for Chocolate Fondue on Wednesday night.

-Went to Fenton's (in Oakland) for lunch/dessert on Tuesday and then to the Oakland Temple/Visitor's Center.

-Went to Monterey Bay (but really Moss Landing) on Friday to kayak with some aquatic friends.

-Rok for dinner on Friday night.

-Swimming in the pool late Friday night

It was such a crazy couple of days but it was so fun. It's fun when people visit because it lets us be touristy and actually do things. haha

But then Erin flew home Saturday morning and then I went to lunch at Rok (hahaha yeah, again) with the adults who met me their after the wedding. And then we went to the reception for Kirsten and Drew's Wedding which was... interesting...

But yesterday I didn't really do a whole lot really. I went to Colleen's for a little while and we hung out and then swam and I got to play with my favorite dog Kuma which was great. :)

Today, I went to work (at Bushnell & Associate's) where I did tax stuff and then I got to serve someone papers. hahaha which was exciting. I also got to drive the company car, which was fun. :) on the way back to work, I got Chipotle and then headed back to work and quickly got ready to go, then ran home, ate really quickly and then went to the Parent's to do some babysitting. haha it was SO cute because Teagan fell asleep on me which is the most precious thing ever.

I was home for a little while and then I got to go to the Norling's to talk about BYU-Idaho which was fun I suppose. I didn't really do anything but it was still kinda fun. haha But it has been SO hot here. Like during a lot of the day it was triple digit heat which is no bueno at all. But all the ice cream was on sale so I went to the store and bought four different kids of ice cream. hahaha it was great. :) But yeah, that's my day/week/past couple of weeks.

I'm watching Bachelor Pad right now. It's so funny how full of drama it is. And how they make it seem so intense. But it's a wonderful show.... with far too much on-camera making out.

Tomorrow, I have three babysitting jobs. I'll be babysitting for like 9 hours tomorrow. Good thing it won't be 9 hours straight.... :)

oops...

So, I wrote most of this last week but for some reason it didn't publish. So here it is along with some more recent happenings:

Well, I've been home for like 12 days.

And in those twelve days I haven't really done anything exciting at all.

I babysat all day Satuday (at a wedding at the Temple in the morning and then for a fam in the ward in the evening.) So that was good because I made money... a LOT of money...

I also work in the Nursery on Sundays which is good. (Also, my mom is now Relief Society President which is going to be crazy...) but yeah, I give children snacks and play with play-doh all day on Sundays. So great. hahaha

On Monday I worked at Beehive Bookstore for like 4 hours. That was fun. It's crazy how everything just came right back to me. I remembered everything that I was supposed to be and it all just became second nature again. It was kinda fun. I wish I was working there more than I am but whatever. It's fine I guess. And I'm glad it was Dalene I was working with instead of other people. Although I do miss working with Lora. But yep, I miss working in general. I want a job...

Yesterday, I woke up early (well like 8:50 haha) and then we went ice skating. Nate and Al are in a class from 10-10:30 and then it is free skate. SO we went skating and we skate while they are in their little class and then we all skate together. It is quite presh. But Jack and I are preetttttty good. And we do lots of tricks and stuff too. It's great. Then we come home and do various things and then we went to dinner with the Lasko's before they move to Tennessee tomorrow. We obviously went to Rok and it was obviously delicious. Then I went to Courtney's and we all hung out which was fun. We haven't all hung out in a very long time so it was fun to have the whole gang back...

Today we went ice skating again and now we're just hanging out. I think I am going to go and get my car washed because it's super dirty.

--------------------------------

So, that was all last week...

I thought I posted it but I guess I didn't. But I'm posting it now.

After a semi-crazy week last week that did include lots of ice skating (which makes me a pro now...) I am now on vacation.

We left Sunday afternoon and drove to South Lake Tahoe, California. Which was a nice pleasant 4 hour drive. The Bement's (our "cousins" from Highland, UT) had already arrived. We got ourself situated sorta and ate dinner and such before the Anderson's (our "cousins" from Albany, OR) arrived. It took us a while to get all situated but once we finally did at like 10, we just threw the kids in bed. From the three families there are 16 children with me being the oldest and the youngest being a year old. SO crazy.

Good news though! I have a new boyfriend and his name is Ryker. He is 3 years old and he is the cutest thing ever. We hold hands when we walk around and he says my name the cutest way ever. And I'm bff's with his sister Haley, who is 5. It is just to precious. And it's nice to hang out with such little children. Which is kinda my only choice since I am not a part of the high school clique of girls or the middle school gang of boys and my lame-face sister is in Georgia. So I'm ALLLLLLL alone with extra small children.

Tomorrow we're actually going to the lake. Yay!

So I am sure that there will be pictures and more exciting stories to follow!